USA, April 16-18, 2009

Stage 2 - April 17: Road Race, 69/47mi

Leipheimer grinds out solo victory over Bissell

Astana's Levi Leipheimer picked up a close victory Friday at the 2009 Sea Otter
Classic road race in a competition that he deemed to be a "training run". The
Santa Rosa resident was racing on his own, without the benefit of his world-beating
Astana team, but still he had the superior fitness and experience to pull ahead
of the otherwise dominant Bissell Pro Cycling team at the top of a long, steep
Ford Ord grade that marked the finish line.

Leipheimer decided early on that he was going to approach the Sea Otter road race as a robust training event in preparation for the summer race season. In pre-race comments Leipheimer not give himself much of a chance to win against the combined strength and cunning of the well-oiled Bissell boys, a commanding group of athletes who swept Thursday's Sea Otter criterium.

"This is home for me,” he said. “I came up through the ranks doing these local
races and I appreciate them. And I wanted to keep a light spring training schedule.
So, this is what I call free training – to get out there and battle with these
guys. And it was tough.

Indeed, Friday was a spectacular one for a bicycle race. Refreshingly warm,
with a slight coastal breeze to cool down the riders who might otherwise have
overheated on the winding, hill studded 69-mile course. The course looped through
the verdant sage and oak forests of the Fort Ord backcountry, the weather sparkled,
but the star was clearly Leipheimer.

Using a wealth of world-class experience and a simple strategy – to stick closely
with the Bissell team throughout, and then fight it out on the last hill – Leipheimer
was able to chase down a series of breakaways. Bissell standouts Paul Mach and
San Jose's Ben Jacques-Mayne led the attacks along with yesterday's criterium
winner, Morgan Schmitt, who came in third in the road race.

"We had a pretty good day in the breakaways. We were trying to send as many guys up the road as possible to try and tire him out," said Mach.

Leipheimer proved to be more than up to the task of rabbit-chaser. The rider
pedalled away to win by four seconds.

"We went pretty much into the bottom of the final hill together. Morgan went first, then Ben, and then I went and Levi was on my wheel. I tried to put in a dig at the end to see what would happen. But basically he (Leipheimer) just sat there, and then he passed me. He waited for a long time, and I guess that was payback for all of the pain that we put him through during the race," said Mach.

Cromwell powers away from the pack

Tiffany Cromwell (Colavita/Sutter Home) dominated the women's field of the
Sea Otter Classic road race on Friday, winning by a wide margin after a successful
solo breakout from a lively pack. The 21-year-old paced a field that included
including Team Tibco's Joanne Kiesanowski, who finished second for the second
day in a row after missing out on first place by less than a bike length in
Thursday's criterium.

The Colavita/Sutter Home team continued to own the middle spot of the Sea Otter Classic winners' podium with Cromwell's dominant win, adding to teammate Kelly Benjamin's dramatic victory the day prior.

Catherine Cheatley added a third place finish to Colavita/Sutter Home's haul, a remarkable feat considering that just three months prior she fractured her hip in a brutal velodrome accident. The victorious team also placed riders in the fourth and fifth positions, giving Colavita/Sutter Home four of the top five spots in the 49-mile road race that wound through the hilly circuit of Fort Ord's backcountry.

The spritely Cromwell took advantage of a gorgeously clear, warm California day, which was a change from blustery, rain-drenched Sea Otter Classics of recent vintage, to blaze ahead of the peleton on her own volition. It was a bold breakaway that paid victorious dividends for the rising star.

"Today was like a perfect day almost. I am really excited, a win is a win, and it's always a good feeling," said Cromwell.

With a dominant team of strong riders to support her efforts, Cromwell found the running easy on the way to a thirty-four second victory.